[Social Talk] Time Dollar at Prison
Fair Share, a community organization founded by Martin Simon, has been running community-based Time Bank since 1998.
As of 2016, four Time Banks are in operation, and the staff is small, with a capacity of 10 people, but we are actively conducting business to connect the community. Time Dollar and Time Bank made efforts to spread Edgar Chan to the UK, to appear on the BBC, or to arrange a meeting with Tony Blair.
This time bank system has also been studied in the prison. There are two models available, which can be combined or operated at the same time.
Time bank in prison
It is a way for the guards to support coordination and the Fair Share staff to visit the prison every two weeks to coordinate the prison time.
Connection with external time bank
It is a way to donate time spent in prison to an outside time bank and donate to family or community.
In both cases, coordination of prison guards or prisoners is required for coordinating activities such as service exchange records. The Time Bank coordinator visits the prison at intervals of two weeks to check the exchange details, reports on the time spent using the time spent by the prisoner , New members should be interviewed.
You can see how Time Bank has operated for detainees. Since 2004, Fair Share has started running Time Bank in connection with community-based prisons and has created the following examples:
First of all, there is a bicycle repair project. The bicycle company donates to a used bicycle prison that needs repair. Bicycle repair techniques are taught to prisoners for repairs, and repaired bikes are donated to free grants to Africa, community donations (bikes stolen), or donations to a women's center or a child support organization.
This is to use the service time of the prisoner. If you have a time bank in your family's neighborhood, you can donate it to your family.
Alternatively, you can contribute to a Good Will Pot to donate to vulnerable groups, victims or families of crime that need unilaterally help in the community, or prisoners who need help in prison.
Reading a Story Book In cooperation with an exercise group, it is possible to provide a service to record a storybook or a letter reading for the children and deliver it to the family. I also made a Christmas video for my family and sent it to my family as a gift.
Times 2 Maths is a Time Bank program that mentors mathematics. A prisoner who can teach mathematics teaches mathematics to a fellow prisoner, so that he can learn about GED or practical mathematics.
I was sponsored by an insurance company, and I was evaluated as a program that contributes to solving grievances that insured members do not understand basic concepts of mathematics and do not understand insurance company's bills or notices.
Listening is a Time Bank service that tells the story of the prisoners. In cooperation with a group called Samaritan, we have been able to exchange inmates for prisoners' training and service hours in prison.
There is also a typical Time Bank service program. It is the simplest service program you can do in a prison where you can exchange help and save time between any service without any specific program. The time saved is credited to the Time Bank of the desired area and donated to the family or community.
Why is Time Bank attractive to prisoners?
First, you can expand your volunteer opportunities. Being busy in the daytime with your room means that you will be able to increase your activity with purposefulness, which is important for prisoners who are important to you.
And the guards and their families who see and evaluate prisoners are positively changing their perceptions and provide prisoners with opportunities to engage with communities outside the prison. This means enhancing the emotional health and well-being of prisoners and strengthening their ability to prevent repeat offenders.
The community also benefits from prison Time Bank. The time that was donated to the community bank through the prisoner's mathematics learning program will provide the service using the Time Bank function which provides volunteer visit service to the elderly who are not in the community.
